Thursday, September 11, 2014

Attacks Remain Low In Iraq 1st Week of September But Massacres Keep Casualties High

For the last several weeks the number of reported security
incidents has dipped, but casualties have stayed at a high level. Fighting in
Iraq remains intense in some parts of the country, but the insurgent charge
during the summer has largely been subdued accounting for the decline in
attacks. At the same time there are more and more reports of the Islamic State
carrying out mass executions of people in its conquered territory, which
accounts for the large number of casualties. This is likely the status quo in
Iraq for the foreseeable future.

In the first week of September there were the second lowest
number of reported security incidents for the year. From September 1-7 the
press had 168 incidents. That was the lowest figure for 2014 since 150 were
recorded from August 15-21. This fits in with the recent trend, which started
in August when attacks steadily declined going from 265 the first week, to 178
the second, 150 the third, and 179 the fourth. This all points to fighting in
the country having settled into a rough stalemate. There is fierce fighting in
some areas of the country, but in most provinces there are relatively few
attacks. Baghdad for example had the most incidents with 50 for the first week
of September, but in Kirkuk there were only 18, 16 in Ninewa, 11 in Diyala, and
10 in Babil. In comparison in January there were an average of 5.4 attacks per
day in Ninewa with only 2.2 the last week.

The numbered killed in Iraq has been going in the opposite
direction with the figures climbing over the last couple weeks. From September
1-7 there were 616 fatalities. That followed 348 from August 15-21, and 542
from August 22-28. The number of dead the first week of September was made up
of 38 members of the Iraqi Security Forces (ISF), 4 sahwa, 6 peshmerga, and 568
civilians. There were another 751 people wounded during the week consisting of
70 ISF, 3 sahwa, 41 peshmerga, and 637 civilians. Massacres by IS in Ninewa and
Salahaddin is the main reason why the number of dead have been going up
recently. As the group consolidates its control over northern Iraq it is
killing more dissenters, minorities, and those who refuse to pledge allegiance
to it. September
1 15 Yazidis were killed when one of their shrines was blown up by IS in
Sinjar, Ninewa. September 2
7 people were executed in Mosul. September
4 15 people were shot in Mosul in two separate
incidents. The next day three
women were killed in the city. September
6 five fortune tellers were reportedly beheaded there as well, followed by
46 people being killed there
the next day. In Salahaddin 60
bodies were discovered in Baiji
and 24 truck drivers were found in Sulaiman
Bek on September 3. After Amerli was liberated 24
executed people were uncovered there. That same day, September
5 another 35 bodies turned up in Sulaiman Bek. In total there were 234
people executed by the Islamic State for the week, roughly one third of the
total number of fatalities.

Violence
In Iraq By Week 2014

Date

Incidents

Dead

Wounded

Jan 1-7

244

363

736

Jan 8-14

272

364

683

Jan 15-21

205

358

616

Jan 22-28

236

305

618

Jan 29-31

57

93

237

JAN

1,014

1,483

2,890

Feb 1-7

204

296

700

Feb 8-14

226

258

505

Feb 15-21

264

346

703

Feb 22-28

251

374

618

FEB

945

1,274

2,526

Mar 1-7

253

412

702

Mar 8-14

206

324

612

Mar 15-21

216

423

736

Mar 22-27

211

279

580

Mar 28-31

110

168

271

MAR

996

1,606

2,901

Apr 1-7

238

259

550

Apr 8-14

223

362

646

Apr 15-21

251

406

786

Apr 22-28

226

347

744

Apr 29-30

61

82

179

APR

999

1,456

2,905

May 1-7

198

246

483

May 8-14

257

469

752

May 15-21

183

256

426

May 22-28

204

407

817

May 29-31

63

90

132

MAY

905

1,468

2,610

Jun 1-7

224

588

1,021

Jun 8-14

227

658

887

Jun 15-21

170

729

564

Jun 22-28

170

720

775

Jun 29-30

56

127

236

JUN

877

2,822

3,483

Jul 1-7

200

511

622

Jul 8-14

211

577

625

Jul 15-21

225

398

1,000

Jul 22-28

223

549

801

Jul 29-31

65

162

230

JUL

924

2,197

3,278

Aug 1-8

265

951

885

Aug 9-14

178

709

1,152

Aug 15-21

150

348

499

Aug 22-28

179

542

815

Aug 29-31

58

118

289

AUG

830

2,668

3,640

Sep 1-7

168

616

751

Security
Incidents In Iraq By Province Sep 1-7 2014

Province

Security

Incidents

Dead

Wounded

Types of

Attack

Anbar

23

104

9
ISF

2
Sahwa

93
Civilians

158

25
ISF

2
Sahwa

131
Civilians

8 Shootings

2 Suicide Car Bombs

1 Suicide Bomber

Babil

10

12

12
Civilians

30

2
ISF

28
Civilians

1 Shooting

6 IEDs

Baghdad

50

112

14
ISF

2
Sahwa

96
Civilians

297

27
ISF

1
Sahwa

269
Civilians

17 Shootings

25 IEDs

3 Sticky Bombs

4 Car Bombs

1 Suicide Car Bomb

Basra

2

2

2
Civilians

1 Shooting

Diyala

11

9

9
Civilians

27

27
Civilians

4 Shootings

12 IEDs

1 Suicide Bomber

Kirkuk

18

42

42
Civilians

61

61
Civilians

7 Shootings

2 IEDs

1 Car bomb

Ninewa

16

103

103
Civilians

6

6
Civilians

7 Shootings

15 IEDs

Qadisiyah

2

2

2
Civilians

2 IEDs

Salahaddin

36

232

15
ISF

6
Peshmerga

211
Civilians

170

16
ISF

41
Peshmerga

113
Civilians

19 Shootings

7 IEDs

3 Car Bombs

The Islamic State has continued with its intensified car
bomb campaign as well. For the last several weeks IS has been launching wave
after wave of vehicle borne improvised explosive devices (VBIEDs) with only one
to two days in between them. The beginning of September was no different.
September 1 marked the end of the last wave, which began on August 29. Then the
next series started on September 3 with a bombing in Samarra and lasted until
September 6 with another bombing in that city. In total 11 VBIEDs went off for
the week costing the lives of 58 people and wounding another 184. The targets
during the week were split between those aimed at stoking sectarian tensions
like the five on Baghdad and tactical ones like hitting Samarra and Camp
Speicher outside of Tikrit.

Car Bombs In Iraq Sep. 2014

Date

Location

Dead

Wounded

Sep 1

Baya x2, Baghdad

13

45

Sep 2

Sep 3

Samarra, Salahaddin

7

17

Sep 4

Albu Faraj, Anbar

Kadhimiya & Sadoun St, Baghdad

Kirkuk, Kirkuk

24

85

Sep 5

Amiriya Fallujah, Anbar

Zafaraniya, Baghdad

Tikrit, Salahaddin

14

33

Sep 6

Samarra, Salahaddin

4

Sep 7

Totals

11

58

184

Anbar is a perfect example of how fighting in the country
has deadlocked. Since the beginning of August insurgents have been trying to
take Haditha and its nearby dam, while the Iraqi Security Forces and tribes are
trying to clear the area around Ramadi for the umpteenth time this year. On September
2 IS fighters attacked Haditha on three fronts but were stopped. During
that same time the ISF and tribes were continuing with clearing operations in
Ramadi where insurgents have been able to expand from the south into the
southern and northern sections. September
3 the ISF claimed it cleared Garma and Ben Ali, and then Hamidhiya the following
day. The problem as always in the province is that the ISF and tribes have
gone into these exact same areas again and again and again since January only
to have them slip back into insurgent hands. The Anbar Operations Command
simply has no strategy in place to clear and hold areas in the governorate,
which is why no real progress has been made there. For the week there were a
total of 23 incidents leading to 104 killed and 158 wounded. As usual a large
number of those casualties were the result of indiscriminate government
shelling, which hit Fallujah and Garma and resulted in 69 deaths and 120
injured.

Babil saw continued security operations by militias, while
the Islamic State were striking back at them. There have been at least two
clearing campaigns by militias in Yusifiya in the last few weeks with the last
ending on September 5. IS has been
attacking the Shiite gunmen in response with a mortar attack upon Iskandiriya
on September
1 killing one militiaman and wounding two. September
3 an IED in Jurf al-Sakhr left one militiaman dead and two injured.
Finally, September
5 a convoy was hit
by an IED leaving 4 dead and 14 wounded. For the week the province saw 10
attacks, 12 killed and 30 wounded.

Baghdad had the most attacks of any province for the week.
There were 50 that led to 112 killed and 297 wounded. Five car bombs went off
in the governorate at the beginning of September hitting Baya, Kadhimiya,
Sadoun Street, and Zafaraniya leaving behind 40 bodies and 123 injured. There
were an additional 17 shootings, 25 IEDs and 3 sticky bombs during the week.
Since fighting has subsided in northern Iraq Baghdad has returned as the main target
of the insurgents.

The peshmerga are still trying to retake Jalawla in eastern
Diyala after losing it to IS led militants in August. The Kurds have been able
to clear some of the surrounding villages, but have not entered the town
itself. In the meantime IS is carrying out reprisals there executing three on September 2 and blowing up the home of
a sheikh and four of his relatives on September
6. In the center of the governorate the Diyala police chief announced
a plan to clear the water system for Baladrooz, which had been cut off by the
Islamic State. Outside the Jalawla area most of the province is relatively calm
with only 11 attacks, 9 dead and 27 wounded for the start of September.

Kirkuk saw 42 killed and 61 injured for the week. Just over
half of these were due to Iraqi Army air attacks upon Zab, Hawija, Tamor and
Albu Zarkh, along with artillery fire on Tal Ali that left 27 dead and 36
wounded.

Similarly the Kurds are attempting to push the Islamic State
out of the area to the north of Mosul in Ninewa. September 4 the
peshmerga took four towns around Khazir, which had fallen to the militants the
previous month. That was part of a larger push to retake
Bashiqa, which is by Mosul Dam. These operations are being supported by
American air strikes. On the other had there were eight reported executions by
IS in Mosul and Sinjar causing 91 people to lose their lives. The Islamic State
is attempting to assert its power over the province by executing those that break
its rules. More of these incidents are going to occur in the future. Government
air strikes killed another 11.

Salahaddin had the most casualties in the first week of
September. There were 36 attacks causing 232 fatalities and 170 wounded. Heavy
fighting continued throughout the middle of the governorate. This area was the
target of 3 car bombs hitting Samarra and Camp Speicher outside of Tikrit. Most
importantly militias, peshmerga, Iranian advisers backed by the U.S. Air Force relieved
the town of Amerli that had been besieged for two months. After the initial
victory the militias turned on their erstwhile Kurdish allies banning
them from entering the town. At the same time, the peshmerga, militias and
ISF were clearing areas of Tuz Kharmato during the week. A less successful
attempt was launched to enter
Tikrit again, which seemed to stall as soon as it began. The governor also
announced that a tribal force of 5,000 fighters had been
organized to help the security forces fight the insurgency. It wasn’t clear
whether these men would be supported by Baghdad, which would be crucial to
sustain them. Finally as areas of IS control were retaken several mass graves
were found in Suleiman Bek, Baiji, and Amerli with 143 bodies in them. Government
air strikes killed another 39 and wounded 33 east of Tikrit and in Baiji. Almost
all of those came in one incident in Alam on September 2 when 38 died and 25
were wounded, all of which were displaced people. The government claimed it was
a mistake,
but the victims and their relatives believe that the pilot had
to know he was hitting civilians.

SOURCES

AIN,
"IA soldiers killed, injured northern Ramadi," 9/4/14

Alsumaria,
"Killed and injured 13 by a roadside bomb on the entrance to Speicher
military base north of Tikrit," 9/5/14

-
"Seven dead and 17 injured in a car bomb targeting a gather of the army
south of Tikrit," 9/3/14

Buratha
News, "Daash executed 7 civilian residents of Mosul," 9/2/14

-
"Found 60 bodies from Baiji north of Tikrit," 9/3/14

-
"Injuring four people, blowing up a car bomb in central Samarra,"
9/6/14

- “Salahuddin Governor announces the formation of a tribal
force of five thousand fighters for the liberation of the province from Daash
terrorists,” 9/7/14

Coles, Isabel, “Iranians play role in breaking IS siege of
Iraqi town,” Reuters, 9/1/14

Fahim,
Kareem, Ahmed, Azam, and Semple, Kirk, “Sunni Mistrust Is Major Hurdle for New
Iraqi Leaders,” New York Times, 9/10/14

Al Forat, “4 villages of Sueliman Bek liberated,” 9/2/14

-
"ISIL executes woman, throws her body in Tigris River," 9/4/14

Independent Press Agency, “Security forces stormed the start
of the four axes of Tikrit,” 9/2/14

1 comment:

Anonymous
said...

lies and false numbers to hide the itter defeat of axis of evil sahwa plus nato plus iran plus tawagheet ... ur numbers are skewed and falsified by the dozens just like any other typical propoganda channel ... u dont fool us

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About Me

Musings On Iraq was started in 2008 to explain the political, economic, security and cultural situation in Iraq via original articles and interviews. I have written for the Jamestown Foundation, Tom Ricks’ Best Defense at Foreign Policy and the Daily Beast, and was responsible for a chapter in the book Volatile Landscape: Iraq And Its Insurgent Movements. My work has been published in Iraq via NRT, AK News, Al-Mada, Sotaliraq, All Iraq News, and Ur News all in Iraq. I was interviewed on BBC Radio 5, Radio Sputnik, CCTV and TRT World News TV, and have appeared in CNN, the Christian Science Monitor, The National, Columbia Journalism Review, Mother Jones, PBS’ Frontline, the Center for Strategic and International Studies, the Institute for the Study of War, Radio Free Iraq, Rudaw, and others. I have also been cited in Iraq From war To A New Authoritarianism by Toby Dodge, Imagining the Nation Nationalism, Sectarianism and Socio-Political Conflict in Iraq by Harith al-Qarawee, ISIS Inside the Army of Terror by Michael Weiss and Hassan Hassahn, The Rise of the Islamic State by Patrick Cocburn, and others. If you wish to contact me personally my email is: motown67@aol.com